The Ports of Indiana, the agency that operates Indiana’s public ports, is seeking a new operator for its grain shipping terminal at Burns Harbor on the southern shore of Lake Michigan after current operator Cargill announced it was closing the terminal after 44 years.
Cargill’s website announced in early February that the facility, which handled soybeans, corn and wheat, is permanently closed.
Ports of Indiana will assume possession of the facility after Cargill’s June 1 departure and is currently looking for a long-term partner to help grow shipments at the port.
The International Ag Shipping Terminal can handle ocean vessels transiting the Great Lakes, 1,000-foot lake vessels, year-round barge traffic via the inland river system and unit trains from nearly all Class I railroads, Ports of Indiana said in its announcement of a request for qualifications, or RFQ, from potential operators.
The grain elevator terminal includes 7.2 million bushels of storage facilities and high-speed loading capacities that can load 90,000 bushels per hour into an ocean vessel and unload 30,000 bushels per hour from a unit train.
David Murray can be reached at [email protected].
